A Week On The Tiles...

Hello blog fans! So more progress to report - we have the makings of a roof - woo hoo! Every day it is starting  to look a little less like a Hawaiian hut and more like a full fledged extension. We also have a rather attractive render design on the outside of the building - a sort of 70s swirl - beautiful!!! Mr Doyle made me take pictures in the rain so there is a distinct lack of blue sky in the below...

Skylights are in as well as you can see below, and the roof tiles are starting to go on, windows and doors go in next week and it will be almost like a proper house! I am rather scared about the knocking through part but this is a while off I think...

The big job this week was blocking up what were our lovely hallway windows. Once upon a time The Doyles had a light and bright hallway from where we could stand and see out across the land... now we have a mass of grey bricks blocking any view - but this extension game is about making sacrifices - so we donate some light and we get a whole new wing - it's about give and take. The hallway is obviously the first thing people see on entry to the Doyle dwelling and this is what they are faced with...

So it's interior time. Madge arranged for the gorgeous crocodile white tiles from Topps tiles to be delivered which are rather lovely and just sitting there waiting to be installed

Underfloor heating and bi fold doors ordered - check.

Floor tiles we are pondering over. Topps sent some rather lovely samples but we had neglected to work out the price and for 40 square metres of floor it was around £4.5k - needless to say we're going to have another think on those!! But I am loving a bit of sparkle. Favourites so far are Lux or Stardust ...





MK Electric have kindly provided electrical accessories - we have more lightswitches than we could ever dream off!!


Having spent a week with Lady Di and the hairy one on a photo shoot in glamorous locations the inevitable house envy kicked in, but I got over the fact I don't live in a £3 million house and instead focused on the wallpaper. So this week it's all about the walls!


Today a certain lady called Louise innocently revealed how she had selected a purple floral wallpaper after visiting a number of DIY sheds. She wasn't quite prepared for my reaction which was to unleash my anger that she hadn't visited wallpaperdirect OK, so maybe it is a shameless plug but the site has over 7000 wallpapers so why oh why buy wallpaper from anywhere else!! (You can get free samples delivered to your door!)


So as it is my last week in PR agency land I pay homage to the wonders of wallpaper direct and my most coveted item this week is.... a wallpaper. It is NEO by Brewers and I love it!! Backdrop for the loo oh yes I think so!! There will be a big stag in my downstairs cloakroom...





But then I also LOVE the Mr Perswall Secret Destinations wallpaper and you can actually hide names in it - so The Doyles could appear!




My Brewers team are planning a trends extravaganza to launch the lovely new wallpaper trends (it's not twisted citrus this year!?!) and oh how I will miss them in their own unique ways: Jen for her countertop catastrophes; the gorgeous Baby Brewer AKA Sal  'are scones made in Jersey?' ; Bonnie Brewer who is struggling to see beyond interiors from the Victorian era and Estelle who despite me begging her to behave and wear more clothes continually ignores my requests. Farewell my wallpaper friends I will keep my eyes peeled for wall to wall coverage of highland flings!!

Until next week, where I will mostly be masquerading as self employed and project managing the extension!!! God help us all

Mrs D x

It's Going To Be A Whopper!

OK so slightly over a week since the last post but what progress! Last week we had mere footings... this week we have a whopping great big grey Hawaiian hut attached to the house!!

It was a week of optical illusions - the footings went in, and the Doyles panicked - convinced it was in fact a miniature outbuilding that simply would not be able to house our rather large and already purchased kitchen. We were reassured by Mr & Mrs Edwards that this is normal extension-panic-procedure... and sure enough as the walls started to appear it turned into OHMIGOD we've got a big one!

In technical terms according to the builders we have added a 'a big lump' onto our house. The neighbours have been away for the last two weeks and we fear will have heart failure when they return!!

It is at this stage I should formally introduce the Paul the builder (who is now following my blog and to say he is scared of what I will write is an understatement!). The team at Alpha have done a stonking job so far... but we want to keep Paul on his toes... so we'll only say so far...! The Grey Hawaiian hut is all down to them and despite being rained off a couple of days, the Doyles remain rather impressed!! But anything can happen...

 

Now enough about the exterior, as most of you know for me it's all about the interiors! And the one thing most coveted by Mrs Doyle this week is a simple ceramic.

Known as Crocodile White tiles from Topps Tiles. These are things of beauty. First seen by the Doyles in store when it was tile love at first sight. Then on a night out at The Folly with the Brewers crew, there they were in all their glory and I knew it was meant to be.



So Madge was my first port of call... and off she goes... in one fell swoop she manages to get the tiles free of charge! Oh how we love Madge and now how we love Topps Tiles!!!


Now the BIG news and the thing that got everyone excited was the stamp rug... here it is again just for effect..

Many have spied it on Allan Carr and it is still hugely desired. But Madge has yet again come up trumps with a WHOPPING discount on the rug for our WHOPPING extension. We are talking about a 50% discount -  which in itself is amazing. But it's not over yet. Now I need support to convince Mr Doyle that it is a necessary purchase, especially as from the week after next I will no longer be in full time employment... what should I do?? Vote now

Mrs Dx

And There It Was Gone.....

It's been an exciting week and the West Wing is well and truly underway!

It is the first official week of the 'Big Doyle Build' and the builders have been going at some pace... the garage is no more! So it is with much pleasure that I can reveal a rather dramatic before and after..

before...

after....

It was an eventful five days which went a little something like:

Day one: garage demolished

Day two: footings dug

Day three: building inspector arrived and signed off work

Day four: foundations laid

Day five: bricks visible

This time next week I think we may even have some walls!

So while the work is underway and Mr Doyle has been involved in the rather mundane selection of boilers and underfloor heating. I have mostly been looking for household accessories that I either can't afford or make no sense but I think will look rather lovely in the new Doyle wing. I have in fact been ridiculed by Bonnie Brewer this week for ripping out pics from magazines but I really like antique cash registers and I'm sure I can find a place for one can't I!?!?

Today I am mostly coveting a stamp rug - I have fallen in love with it... but Mr Doyle says no - bah humbug. OK so £700 for a rug is a lot of money but think of the wow factor...



I also rather fancy a wall phone, not quite sure where I will put it but I am sure I can weave it into the scheme somewhere.

This weekend we will be tile shopping and as Madge was dealing with some less than helpful PRs  we have to go back to the drawing board on radiators it seems, so off to the DIY sheds we go. But we have a loo and a sink on the premises so there is progress.

The very good news is this week is 'photo shoot week' which sees me hanging out with the posh and becks of the interior styling world and means I can stare at interiors and beautiful but unnecessary household items for five consecutive days! It's like a dream come true.

So onwards and upwards (literally) and next week expect wall-to-wall fun in the West Wing!

Mrs D x

The Final Countdown

OK so the build hasn't quite started yet. I was hoping my second post would be one of dramatic effect... the kind of now you see it... now you don't.. type.

But it wasn't meant to be.

 As you can see the garage is still firmly in place... BUT.... we have a couple of new additions. Namely a rather unattractive skip nestling on the 1970s crazy paved drive and a weird unidentified object covered in tarpaulin lurking in the back garden.

Next week however there will be movement. Apparently on Monday a selection of  builders will be wielding their sledgehammers and The West Wing will be firmly underway.

But while the physical build might have been delayed, in true PR style I have been shamelessly touting my house in return for product.

It is at this point that I must pay homage to 'Madge'* the journalist who is performing some makeover magic for us. Rather excitingly she has managed to secure some stylish sanitaryware from Roca for the downstairs cloakroom, a rather lovely radiator from B&Q and blind from Luxaflex. But in our greedy fashion we are not stopping there and are hoping for an array of light switches, sockets and tiles.. all in return for a credit in the magazine of course.. no pressure Madge!!

On Wednesday Mr Doyle will be working from home to received said sanitaryware which will be stored alongside the Smeg appliances eagerly awaiting installation. I think the excitement is too much!

On the 'to do this week action list' are immensely dull tasks like boiler shopping, but it shall be intermingled with looking for attractive and unnecessary home accessories to maintain interest. Oh and I think we might be needing a couple of doors as well..

Only 11 weeks until Marathon day so let's see if we make it......

*Names have been changed to protect identity!!!

Mrs D x

The Last Weekend...

So... this is my first attempt at a blog (Aaron Huckett will be proud). I am keen to expand my digital know how and keep myself busy as I officially finish my job in a mere five weeks (ARGH!!)

The deal is The Doyles are extending - we are adding a 'west wing' to our 1930s semi and will have THE island in a kitchen that we've always dreamed of.. oh and a dishwasher for the first time in our marital lives.

The whole process to date has been relatively pain free thanks to Estelle Boon's on/off boyfriend and accomplished planner who has guided us through the process, but now comes the hard bit... the build itself. We have never experienced any kind of building work before so have no idea what to expect. It's going to be a journey and as I am unnaturally obsessed with interiors, one that I thought I would document stage by stage.

The west wing compromises an ample kitchen with a host of smeg appliances, a utility room (where Richard can do the washing - it's true I married a man who loves washing and ironing) and a downstairs cloakroom.

Last conversation with the builder was that work was due to start 'this week' and so we wait with baited breath. So far we have bought the kitchen and Richard AKA Stig has practically lived at the local dump for the last few weeks as we prepare for the garage to be demolished, I think it provided a bit of man-therapy.

So this is what the house looks like before (in fact this was before we moved in - the trees are rather large now and the front door has changed). I'll post step-by-step pics of the progress and we are hoping the new Doyle wing will be ready by marathon day (April 17th) when Mr Doyle will be running and we will be hosting a post marathon shindig to celebrate (we hope!). Let's see how we get on - only 12 weeks to go!!!

Mrs D x